Inside the Hourglass
by olderthanyouthink
Summary: This story is about two groups of people who travel back to the MWPP era, yet are adverse to each other. The two house groups must unite to save Hogwarts--while still keeping the actual timeline intact. This is not a Mary Sue, please Read and Review.
1. Default Chapter

A/N - This is a short chapter. The next one will be longer, I promise! Oh, the Harry Potter Universe belongs to J. K. Rowling and Warner Bros., for those of you who don't know. I own Katrina Shanks (the witch), Ria Goldenlake (the Dragon's Mage), Bytenix Marague (the fighting mage), Zanthia Pyrades (the absent-minded pyromancer, and necromancer), Kieran Janaal (the Maker), Khazoi Illinait (the Song-Mage), and Thomas Kramer (the Fire Magician and Gladrags model). If you want to use any of these people in a story, or just a name, email me and we'll work it out. Please R/R!!

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Inside the Hourglass

by

satrios

Prologue

"In Which a Terrible Event Occurs"

It was graduation day for the class of 1998, and the excitement in the air was nearly palatable. Most of the students were eager to escape the perimeters of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, simply for the fact that all of wizard England knew that the Scottish boarding school was where Lord Voldemort planned to attack next.

Instead of the regular House tables and benches in the Great Hall that day, there were pews and a podium at the very front of the large room. Professor Dumbledore, who was looking more harried by the day, called the roll.

The people in the first pew were not quite paying attention. There were nine of them to be exact. Five girls and four boys. Surprisingly, this one piece of furniture held the very people who were _least _eager to leave Hogwarts for good.

Seated next to the aisle lined with red carpet was Neville Longbottom. If one knew Neville personally, he or she would feel sorry for him. Neville, who was, until the end of fifth year at the bottom of his class, would miss the variety of plants that were particular to the area around the Dark Forest. Also, he liked school. After his powers peaked at age 16, he realized that he was not a Squib, in fact, he was quite a powerful wizard. As Dumbledore had told him, the later a wizards' powers peaked, the stronger the powers were likely to be. It was a pleasure to beat Malfoy at exam time, one that was too short-lived for Neville.

On Neville's right side was seated Hermione Granger. After Harry's close shave with Voldemort at the end of fourth year, she had thrown herself into her schoolwork. Averaging 420% on every exam, she had become rather obsessed with outdoing everyone. She would also miss access to a library such as the one housed within the stone walls of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Looking around the hall and all the familiar faces surrounding her, Hermione thought vaguely that the school had become more of a home to her than her own house.

Slytherins Katrina Shanks, Ria Goldenlake, Bytenix Valkeyrie, Zanthia Pyrades, Kieran Janaal, Thomas Kramer, and Khazoi Illinait were crammed onto the same bench as the two Gryffindors.

After the end-of-year-exam scores had been announced, they all had to go back up and get their certificates. Draco Malfoy, Professor Snape's school service student, handed them out. When Dumbledore called out, "Pyrades, Zanthia!" she went up to get her certificate, beaming.

Zanthia heard a voice whisper an odd word, and she tripped over an invisible cord. There was some laughter, but it died out as a cloud of luminous dust sprinked over the first pew--and Zanthia. _My time-turner,_ Zanthia thought dimly._ It must've broken_.

Suddenly the colors of the Hall shifted, swirled, and died out.


	2. In Which The Reader Learns of Zanthia's ...

**A/N – I know that last chapter was short, but this one will be longer, I promise! A brief synopsis—the Gryffindors (Hermione and Neville) and the Slytherins (Katrina, Ria, Bytenix, Zanthia, Kieran, Khazoi and Thomas—fight. The Great Hall, fortunately empty, is where we find ourselves at the beginning of the story. Happy reading. And please, please Read and Review.**

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**Inside The Hourglass**

_by_

_shadracon_

_"In Which the Gryffindors and Slytherins Have A Row"_

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The assorted seventh-years found themselves, much to their surprise, in an empty Great Hall. Ivy grew through the windows and frames, much less abundant than the ivy that had been there during there time at the school. This perplexed Zanthia greatly, as she had not even seen--

Then it hit her.

Her Time Turner must have malfunctioned! There was no other explanation. Having recovered first, she helped her fellows to their feet and began to make sure no one was hurt.

Meanwhile, the two Gryffindors were greatly disturbed to see themselves surrounded by Slytherins. Although desperately outnumbered if things came to a fight, Neville thought dimly, (having hit his head on the stone floor), he and Hermione made a formidable fighting team--it had come to a stalemate in duelling club last year until stupid Draco Malfoy had interfered with a--

Hold up, Neville thought, his brain beginning to function properly again. He had see Draco with his wand pulled out right before a load of stinging dust hit his eyes, and he had seen Zanthia stumble and put her hand out so that she might catch herself when she hit the ground.

Zanthia Pyrades was a very odd young woman, to say the least. She came from a very rich wizarding clan, and although they were not pure-bloods, the Sareni family held the monopoly in wizarding trade. In Italy, the Saren was a type of wizarding currency named after the family. She was also related to Professor Florence Sinistra.

Many of the students (and a few of the teachers) greatly feared her powers. She was very absentminded, often forgetting about them. It was only far and few between that her powers would burst out--she might point at something and it would catch on fire, or she would get mad and suddenly her body would be wreathed in flames.

But these displays of power were rare and short-lived. Her real power lay in the very blood that coursed through her body--the power to turn back the hand of death and time.

This, however, was not the power of a healer. Envied by the Dark Lord and feared by his followers, her clan, the Sarenis, had harbored this secret power for ages--how could they not? At every turn, people would be hounding them to bring their loved ones to life if word got out. As it was, but few of the people knew she could turn death to life--Severus Snape, Florence Sinistra, Albus Dumbledore, and of course, The Dark Lord.

Severus Snape knew because Zanthia once lost control of her Necromancer's powers in his presence. His pet crow, Corvus, forty-seven years of age, had died. He showed no outward emotion, yet his absence of sarcasm (indeed, speech) for hours afterward had signified to Zanthia that something was dreadfully wrong with Severus Snape.

She had gone to visit him in his office, where she found him sitting over the body of Corvus in silence. She had brought him back to life with a touch of her finger, and left. But Severus had seen who she was, and after many days of puzzling, told Albus Dumbledore.

The Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry had found this issue rather worrisome for several reasons, one of which was that if the Dark Lord were ever to discover Zanthia's powers, he would find it highly desireable to have her join his ranks. It made even the venerable Dumbledore shudder to imagine a sizeable army of Dead (rather like Muggle's notions of zombies, feeding upon human flesh and emotions, yet unable to be killed unless the wielder of the magic was slain or they were rendered handicapped by being blown to bits with a hand grenade or some such). Mortal magic stopped working withing yards of any Dead creature. Dumbledore found it intereting that only Muggle weapons could stop the Armies of the Dead.

Meanwhile, back in the Great Hall, the Gryffindors and Slytherins were arguing bitterly about what to do when Severus Snape entered the room.


End file.
